


Everything for You

by Diamond_Sylvie



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Disappearances, Grian flirts with everyone, I have no idea what I'm doing, Multi, Panic Attacks, Pining, Poor Grian needs a hug, Respawn Mechanics, Somewhat forced relationship, Temporary Character Death, X is jealous, Yandere X, i'll add tags as i go, minecraft personas ONLY
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:34:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24654667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diamond_Sylvie/pseuds/Diamond_Sylvie
Summary: Xisuma would do anything for Grian to notice how he really feels. Absolutely anything.Enjoy!(This is kind of like a Hermitcraft/DDLC/Yandere Simulator thing that I created.)((Inspired by The HermitCraft Literature Club by ElementalGhosting))(((Don't ship real people, this is only their personas)))
Relationships: Charles | Grian/Xisumavoid, Grian/Everyone
Comments: 60
Kudos: 233





	1. Prologue

When? No one knows. Not even him. Perhaps sometime between the world changes. How? That’s an even bigger mystery. It just happened. One day he was simply his good friend. The next, he was his obsession. Every single second he spent with him made him fall harder. And harder. And harder. Every single time he was with him he felt…fuller. As if his glass had been half-empty with colourless water then suddenly, full to the brim with the iridescence of his existence.

But there was a problem. The man was shy. He never confessed. That had been his first mistake. Deciding to do what he did next was his second. Or third. Maybe even thirty-seventh. Who knows? Perhaps it had been on an impulse, a spur of the moment decision. I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start from the beginning.

There was a group of people who lived peacefully together. They called themselves the hermits. They were builders, redstoners, the best in their field. There was a man who stepped up to be a leader. He gained access to the admin panel, a powerful device that could manipulate the world and its occupants. Xisuma was his name. He only used it for good, helping the rest of the world thrive. It was hard work, but he didn’t mind.

However, eventually they ran out of things to do. Everyone voted and it was unanimous. They would leave their world behind, full of their creations and monuments, and go to a new one. As everyone visited their bases and projects for the last time, they couldn’t help but feel bittersweet. They met up and with one last goodbye to their world, Xisuma typed something in his panel and they were off.

When they arrived at the new world, they found that some had disappeared, although somehow they knew, deep in their hearts, that they were safe and thriving wherever they were. They just weren’t with them anymore. Others took their place. Time and time again, they changed worlds. Not constantly, but every year or two, when they felt like they had done all they could. They became a close-knit group, like a family. Some of those that disappeared returned, and they were greeted with warm smiles and welcoming words. The sixth world was when he arrived. Grian. At first, he seemed pleasant enough (not that he was ever anything  **less** than pleasant, X thought). Then he had started the tag, a head hunt, a civil war, the hot potato, the list goes on. But as much as he started shenanigans, Xisuma could tell that he truly cared about every single person, always willing to lend a hand to someone who needed it or offering to keep them company on a long resource gathering session. This underlying kindness was the thing that X loved the most about Grian. So as I stated before, X developed feelings, feelings that were reserved for the chaotic man. The way butterflies would flutter every time he looked at him, wanting to run his hand through those fluffy curls and kiss those perfect lips, how he felt like he was filled with everything good in the world when he smiled at him. X wanted to be with him. No, it was more than a want. He  **needed** him. Not literally,like food or water ,but rather, his heart needed it, more than anything in the world. But how far would he take it? That remains to be seen.


	2. The First Mistake

Xisuma was enjoying his stroll through the jungle. Normally he would have stayed in his little corner of the jungle,but this time he was walking around the general area of Grian’s base, hoping to spot the red-sweatered hermit. Suddenly, an explosion came from the direction of the hobbit hole.

Xisuma sprinted to it, panting as he came to a stop. Voices came from the newly-broken window.

“Was that even from Mumbo?” The sound of Grian’s voice alone made X blush.

“No, that was me.” The voice held a swedish accent. It was Iskall.

A very dramatic ‘Noooo!’ could be heard clearly in every corner of the jungle.

“I think the worst part is that Mumbo’s not messaging me!” He wailed. Iskall let out an amused laugh.

“Dude, you sound like Mumbo’s needy boyfriend.”

“B-Boyfriend?!” X poked his head above the window ledge. The man was blushing as bright as his sweater.  _ Did Grian have a crush on Mumbo?  _ Iskall noticed his friend’s flustered expression and elbowed him playfully.

“So you and Mumbo, hm?” 

Grian buried his face in his hands. “Maybe I have a little crush on Mumbo…” He mumbled. 

It was muffled, but X could still hear it. He gasped, slapping a hand over his mouth to silence himself. A wave of cold washed over him. His heart chipped, no longer full, or even half empty, as it was before. It felt smaller, weaker, only a quarter full. He curled his hand into a fist and stumbled back to his base, throwing himself onto his bed. He didn’t like this feeling of sadness, of disappointment, of **heartbreak** . Xisuma didn’t want to lose Grian. He  **couldn’t** lose him. Pushing his pillow into his face, he groaned. He could confess, but if Grian already had his heart set on someone else… then it was useless. X sat up and walked over to his admin panel, hoping to distract himself with work. It had worked before, and it did now, as well. Perhaps  **too** well. He worked for days straight, not eating, sleeping, or thinking about anything that was related to his emotions as he checked the world data again and again, fixing every single little detail that was brought to his attention by his fellow hermits. When he ran out of things to fix, he read the blurry numbers and digits over and over again. Eventually, they got worried. Worried about how he was working himself too hard. They sent the hermit that could make X listen. Grian. They told him to get Xisuma to eat and sleep. He agreed.

~

“X?” Grian poked his head into the doorway of the bee-man’s base. The exhausted admin whirled around, startled from his thoughts.

“Grian! Hi! Uh… do you need something?” His blush was hidden behind the blue-green glow of the panel. Grian sauntered over and sat down in the middle of his desk, blocking the panel from his view.

“I do need something.” He announced, staring down at Xisuma.

“W-What is it?” Grian was surprised. X never stuttered. He was always confident, yet calm at the same time. He brushed it off as a side effect of sleep-deprivation.

He pulled out some steak and golden carrots. “I need you to sleep. And eat.”

“But I’m fine-” His protests were cut off by Grian, who put a finger against what would have been his mouth to shush him. His eyes widened and his rosy-pink blush deepened into a cherry-red. He suddenly wished that he didn’t have his helmet on.

“No, you are not fine,” The red-sweatered hermit frowned at him sternly, like a parent reprimanding their child. At this particular moment, X could see that underlying kindness that the man possessed. “Have you seen yourself? You look like you’ve haven’t slept in 10 years and I’m pretty sure I can see your ribs through your armour.” His gaze softened and X felt his breath catch in his throat. Grian’s eyes were beautiful. They were hazel with little flecks of gold in them, like stars. A small tap on the top of his helmet brought him back into reality. Grian was still in front of him, but he looked slightly annoyed.

“Are you listening to me?” Xisuma averted his gaze.

“Um… yes?” He offered the man a shy smile, barely noticeable through the helmet.

Grian snorted, “Sure you are. Here.” He handed Xisuma some steak. The man accepted it gratefully, just realizing how famished he was. When he finished, he allowed the red-sweatered hermit to lead him to the bed across the room, relishing in the gentleness of the hermit’s hand. Grian helped him to remove his helmet and tucked him into his sheets. He planted a small kiss to the admin’s forehead. It felt… right, like it was meant to be. With a small, but contented sigh, Xisuma fell into a deep sleep.

~

X woke up and stretched, feeling very well-rested. After checking that no one needed his admin help, he decided to work on his base. As he placed block after block, he let his mind wander. It went to Grian, of course. After seeing how truly caring, he simply knew that he couldn’t ever lose him. When he reached for some concrete and only found air, he realized that:a) his new tower was half way done, and b) he had completely run out of concrete. Sighing, he typed out a message to see if anyone had some extra white concrete. Mambo replied almost instantly about how he had some extra concrete powder that X could have. They agreed to meet at Mumbo’s spanner base and X strapped on his elytra.

~

“Hello Mumbo,” The helmeted hermit landed softly beside Mumbo.

“Hey X,” Mumbo replied, “Here’s the concrete.” As X took the concrete from the moustached man, he noticed his eyebags. He put a hand on his shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

Mumbo blinked. “Yeah. Yeah… Just been thinking a lot.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

He nodded, “So… well… um…” He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “I...I really like Grian.”

X froze. It couldn’t be… right? “I mean, I think everyone does?” He said cautiously.

“No. I  **really** like him. Like in  **that** way.” He glanced around nervously.

Xisuma felt like he was being forced underwater. Of all people, why did Mumbo like  **Grian** ? He made himself wish Mumbo good luck and escaped back to his base.

As he collapsed onto his bed, tears slicked his cheeks. If they decided to confess… X would lose Grian forever. That couldn’t happen.

He got up off the bed and paced around anxiously, trying to think of what to do. A sudden buzz came from his communicator. Pulling it out, he noticed it was from Mumbo.  **And he was asking for Grian to meet him at his hobbit hole.** Sure, it could have been a simple request, asking for supplies or whatnot, but hermits usually asked everyone if they had something, not just pinpointed one specific person. Xisuma’s mind went into overdrive.  _ What if Mumbo was trying to confess? He couldn’t do anything! Why- _

His thoughts were cut off by the blue-green screens flickering to life in front of him. He made his way over, almost as if he was hypnotized. He remembered a lesson.

~

_ “Now, this next command should be used very sparingly, as it can be unpredictable.” His teacher’s voice rang out beside him. Xisuma tilted his head, confused.  _ **_Unpredictable?_ **

**** _ “It is the ‘/ban’ command. When you enter it in, be very careful not to mistype the recipient’s name. Otherwise, you could end up banning the wrong person.” _

_ “Banning?” His voice trembled slightly. It sounded scary. _

_ “When you ban someone, they get removed from the world. Thankfully, there is a ‘/unban’ command, so most of the time it’s not permanent.” _

_ Xisuma’s brows furrowed under his helmet. “Most of the time?” _

_ His teacher sighed, “Yes, most of the time. These two commands work differently than all the other ones. Sometimes ‘/unban’ doesn’t work. Nobody quite knows why.” _

~

__ That was all X remembered. However, it would probably have been wise to remember what his teacher said next.

~

_ “These two commands have… consequences. When you ban someone, something that is related to them will disappear. This might be memories, their structures, among other things.” _

~

Xisuma typed in the command with shaky fingers. Fourteen letters. He took a deep breath.  _ It’s going to be fine.  _ He told himself. _ You can always do ‘/unban’.  _

The admin squeezed his eyes shut.

And pressed the ‘enter’ key.

~

“Mumbo?” Grian called out as he approached the hill where the moustached man’s hobbit hole was. He hopped off the small cliff and walked up to where the front door used to be. Keywords:Used to be. Not a single block of wood or stone or glass remained. The land looked like it had never been touched.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Please let me know what Grian ships you want to see. It will most likely be added.(Since y'know, I have to get rid of everyone somehow >:D)
> 
> Yours very truly,  
> Diamond_Sylvie


	3. The Seconds Slip Away

“Mumbo? This isn’t funny! Come out, please!” Tears pricked Grian’s eyes. “Where are you?” He had checked every single one of his friend’s projects.  **Nothing** . All the work that had been done was simply gone, as if it had never existed. He typed a message to everyone, asking them to meet at his mansion. Surprisingly, Ren was the first to arrive, having been hanging out with Iskall while he was building his omega tree. He pushed the giant doors open and saw Grian curled into a ball in the middle of the room and crying. Ren rushed over to the red-sweatered hermit.

“G?” He placed a hand on his shoulder. “What happened?”

“Mumbo’s gone! And so are his bases! I’ve looked everywhere!” 

“What do you mean,gone?”

Grian sniffed. “Like they never existed.”

“Where’s Mumbo?”

“I-I don’t know!”

Ren rubbed Grian’s back comfortingly. “It’s gonna be okay, my dude. We’ll find Mumbo.” The smaller hermit nodded mutely and wiped his eyes.

“The others should be arriving soon.” Grian mumbled. Ren hummed in agreement, wiping the tear stains from Grian’s face.

~

“What do you mean, Mumbo’s missing?” Grian winced at the loud shout, Ren’s arm still around him.

“I couldn’t find him anywhere! And his bases are gone.” Everyone fell silent from shock.

Cub cleared his throat. “We need to go look for him. Stay in pairs, just in case anyone else disappears.” Most of the hermits nodded and paired up, taking off into the cloudy sky. Impulse and Ren stayed behind, not wanting to leave their friend. X flew off, alone. It had worked, but he felt emptier. Like a part of him had gone missing. He reminded himself that he wouldn’t leave them banned forever, just until Grian was his. Still, to avoid drawing suspicion to himself, he pretended to look for Mumbo, entirely aware that no one would find him.

~

<impulseSV>:anything?

<Keralis>: no :(

<StressMonster101>:nothing either

<Tango>:nope

Impulse sighed and looked at Ren, shaking his head softly, gentle buzzing still coming from his communicator. The hermit shot a worried glance at the napping male.

“Do you think he’ll be alright?” Ren said quietly to Impulse, who shrugged sadly.

“I don’t know.”

~

Bdubs groaned. Keralis shot him a look.

“Bumbo’s still missing.”

“I know. And I hope we find him! But I’m sleepy and we can barely see anything!” He stifled a yawn. The sun had set long ago and monsters wandered aimlessly on the ground beneath them. Keralis sighed.

“Go back to your base and sleep-” A sharp buzz interrupted his sentence. Bdubs’ communicator echoed his. They both pulled them out and read the message out loud.

“Hey it’s getting late and no one can see much-”

“So go to sleep. Maybe stay in your groups as well.”

“If anyone else disappears send a message right away-”

“We’ll continue the search tomorrow, from Cub and Scar.” Keralis finished reading the message.

“My base is closer.” Bdubs nodded, and they redirected their path to Keralis’ construction site.

~

“Grian.” Someone nudged him awake. “Grian?” He blinked his eyes open, squinting in the light. A figure leaned over him. It was Ren.

“Impulse made dinner.” Grian smiled weakly. His stomach felt empty, but he had no appetite. Knowing that Mumbo was gone made him nauseous.  _ Not  _ **_gone_ ** _. _ He told himself sharply.  _ Just missing. He’s not dead, can't be. He would respawn. _

“Are you okay?” This time it was Impulse, who was carrying a pot of stew. The red-sweatered hermit only nodded mutely and took a bowl of the stew, picking at it.

After they ate, Ren came up with a suggestion.

“What if we camped out on the roof of your mansion, G? We could see the stars from there. It’d just be like when we were hippie brothers!” Grian cracked a smile at that. Those relaxing days planning how to infiltrate Area 77 had really been something else.

“Sure.”

~

About an hour later, the flat part of Grian’s roof had been turned into a temporary campsite. A small campfire stood in the middle, surrounded by a few logs for chairs and three sleeping bags were laid out next to each other. Ren had gotten his guitar from his base and was now singing to the other two. Eventually, they all got tired and crawled into their sleeping bags, where Grian was in the middle with his head leaning on Impulse’s shoulder and Ren’s arm thrown over his stomach. As the trio fell asleep, the sweet, lingering melodies turned darker until they were no more than a whisper, then disappeared.

~

Xisuma rolled over yet again on his bed. He had been tossing and turning all night. Outside, the moon was at its highest point. X sighed and pushed himself up.  _ No point in trying to sleep when you can’t.  _ Equipping his elytra, he launched a few fireworks and took off, hoping to clear his head with a fly. Thoughts buzzed around his head, making him dizzy. Instinctively, he flew towards Grian’s base, letting the warm jungle air carry him. A soft glow on the roof caught his eye. He landed quietly on the edge and padded towards it, noting that it was a smouldering campfire. It must have been put out recently;the embers still glowed a faint orange. The admin saw the tangled pile of limbs and let out a strangled gasp when he saw who it was. Grian stirred in his sleep at the sudden noise. Before he could make any more of a sound, he turned on his heel and jumped off the huge building, letting his elytra open and drift him to the ground. From there, he headed back to his base, his head more muddled than ever.

~

“According to Cub, we’re going to check the wilderness to the north...west.” Tango muttered, checking his coordinates. “So that way!” He pointed to where, Impulse assumed, was northwest. However, before they could take off, Impulse’s communicator let out a faint ‘ding’.

“Oh! It’s from X. Can you stay here for a minute? He said he wanted to talk to Ren and I about something.” Tango nodded and watched as his friend took off, leaving him to wonder what the admin wanted to talk to them about. He shrugged to himself and stared up into the sky, looking for shapes in the clouds.

~

“Hey X, whatcha need Ren-diggity-dog for?” He called out, flying through the entrance of X’s tower. The admin pushed himself back from his desk and stood up.

“Hello Ren,” He let out a breath, “Let’s wait for Impulse to arrive first.” He invited Ren to sit on the sofa pushed up against a corner. “Tea?” Xisuma asked, tilting his head towards the teapot that sat on the table. Ren nodded and took a cup, holding it on his knee. Impulse arrived soon after.

“Hi X! You need something?”

“Just an honest answer to a question.”

They exchange a nervous glance. “What is it?”

“Do you two, by chance, have any… feelings toward Grian?” Ren took it in stride while Impulse sputtered and blushed.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Maybe...why?”

Xisuma flashed them a sinister smile. “Oh, y’know, just wanted to keep track. Anyway, good luck on the search for Mumbo.” As he turned away, his smile broadened into a grin, knowing fully that they wouldn’t be able to find him. With a wave, he turned and left the building. The two hermits were left at the tower. They looked at each other, confused.

“What was that all about?”

Impulse shrugged. “Let’s just go look for Mumbo. I don’t want to keep Tango waiting. See ya!”

~

“So what’d X want?” Tango questioned his friend. THe two were now gliding over the terrain, scanning the area for their moustached friend. He shrugged.

“Just wanted Ren and I to answer a question. Kinda weird.”

“This isn’t like X.”

Impulse tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

He sighed and ran a hand over his hair. “Normally, in emergencies, X would step up and kinda… take charge, y’know? But this time, he…” Tango trailed off, looking for the right words. Impulse flashed back to the sadistic smile that had been on the admin’s face. He bit his lip, not wanting to jump to conclusions.

“Maybe he’s just trying to fix it with his panel.” Impulse suggested.

“Maybe.” Tango focused his eyes on the terrain once more.

~

That night, two hermits disappeared without a trace.

~

“Tango!” Zedaph stumbled into Toon Towers at full speed, narrowly avoiding the flying anvils. He called out his friend’s name again. “ Tango!” Said man poked his head out from around a corner, hair mussed up from sleep.

“Zed? What happened?” He rubbed his eyes.

“Impulse! He’s gone!”

Tango snapped his head up, all signs of sleep now gone from his eyes. “What?!”

“When I woke up, I went to go check on you two. B-but when I got to where his base was, it wasn’t there!” He could feel his eyes well up with tears and his breaths shorten. Zedaph gasped, trying to take in more air. Hands landed on his shoulders, grounding him.

“Zed. Calm down.” The voice was reassuring.

“Deep breaths. In, out. In, out.” He followed along, heart no longer feeling like it was going to beat out of his chest. He looked up to see Tango, who brushed tears (when had they fallen?) off his cheeks.

“ You’re okay. Do you want me to come with you?” Zed nodded. His friend smiled softly at him. “ Then let’s go.”

~

Stress stretched outside her skull, enjoying the warm morning air of the jungle. However, the moment was cut short as her communicator dinged. Her eyes widened in horror as she read the message.

<Tango>: impulse’s missing

<BdoubleO100>:WHAT

<GoodTimeswithScar>:is anyone else missing

<Cubfan135>: If you’re here say something

Stress quickly typed out a response, assuring them that she was fine. After a few minutes, the replies stopped.

<Cubfan135>: thats everyone except for jevin and ren

<hypnotizd>: im with jevin

<GoodTimeswithScar>: anyone seen ren?

<Stressmonster101>: I’m close i can go check

<Cubfan135>: thanks stress

The brown-haired girl took off behind her base, heading towards the mesa. A couple rockets later, she arrived at the merging biomes. She took one look and her stomach dropped down to her toes.

“Oh no.” She whispered. Nothing was there, only hilly terrain and lumpy red sand.

~

“Hey.” Tango tapped Cub on the shoulder, making the man startle and spin around abruptly. He relaxed when he saw his friend.

“Hey man. Need something?” Tango leaned in close.

“So, you know how people are disappearing? Something isn’t right here. I want to investigate what’s happening. Will you help? I”m going to ask Scar too, since you two are kind of the leaders right now.”

“Of course we’d love to join!” Cub stared at the scarred man beside him.

“When’d you get there?!”

Scar shrugged. “Since Tango started talking. Really, we’d love to help. I don’t know why, or how, our friends keep disappearing, but I don’t like it.” He crossed his arms. “Try to see if you can get anyone else. I’m sure they’ll be happy to help as well.”

Tango nodded and walked over to Beef and xB, who were quietly conversing about something in the corner.

~

By the end of the day, most of the hermits had accepted Tang’s invitation, including Beef, Hypno, Iskall, Zedaph, Cleo, among others. They chose the name  _ Stargazers _ for themselves, a combination of the two civil war team names, also because Grian mentioned that he had looked at the stars with Impulse and Ren before they disappeared. LIttle did they know of who was at the center of it all...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Here's a full list of all the Stargazers for future reference :P  
> Cub  
> Hypno  
> Iskall  
> Stress  
> Tango  
> TFC  
> Beef  
> xB  
> Zedaph  
> Cleo
> 
> Yours very truly,  
> Diamond_Sylvie


	4. Three Questions

Grian stepped onto the path in front of  _ Lookie Lookie at my Bookie _ , breathing in the fresh-rain smell. He had picked up a few enchantment books to further upgrade his armour, and to get a little time alone. Cub and Scar had (very strongly) recommended that everyone stayed relatively close to at least one other person. The shopping district was the only exception, since there were always people coming in or out of the shops. Suddenly, a head poked out of the ice shop.

“Oh hi Etho!” He called out. The ninja only backed into his shop slowly. Grian shrugged and turned around. He didn’t know Etho much, so maybe he was just nervous. The red-sweatered hermit had not taken three steps when he bumped into something. He let out a yelp as the books he was carrying fell out of his arms and he closed his eyes, preparing for the dull thuds that would come from the impact of the leather hitting cobblestone. However, it never happened, and Grian cracked open an eye to see Etho twirling the stack of books on one finger.

“How- When-” Grian stuttered as he tried to process what had just happened.

“At your service, Sir Grian.” He smirked behind his mask, handing Grian the books. “Now you owe me something.” The smaller hermit tilted his head.

“What for?” 

Etho gestured to the slightly muddy stone at his feet. “Your books would have gotten muddy if they fell, and you would have had to get replacements.” 

Grian smiled. “Thanks then. What do I owe you?”

He thought for a second. “I’ll give you an option. Either you sign up for Shade-E-E’s services, or,” He leaned in slightly. “You let me kiss you.” Grian flushed a dark, dark red.

“W-what?” 

The ninja chuckled. “Judging by that reaction, I’m guessing you want the first option. Unless…?” He raised an eyebrow. The red-sweatered hermit bit his lip, weighing his options. He had heard about the absolutely annoying, aggravating ‘free glass’ and how Etho had hidden bee hives all over their bases. Still, should he take that over a kiss?  _ I mean, it wouldn’t last as long, and… well…  _ He glanced at Etho’s mask.

“Really considering it, eh?” Grian’s eyes darted up to meet Etho’s mismatched ones.

“I choose…” He hesitated a little. “I choose the second one.” The taller hermit blinked slowly. 

“Well.” He coughed slightly. “I was not expecting that.” Grian smirked, his mischievous nature taking over.

“What’s the matter? You were the one who suggested it anyway.” He steps forward, reaching for Etho’s mask. “May I?” He nodded and the two met in the middle.

_ Dang, Etho’s a good kisser. _

Xisuma let out a small growl from his place behind a bush nearby.

~

“I hereby begin the first official meeting of the  _ Stargazers _ .” Cub called out. They were at a corner of his pyramid, where he’d set up a room with a table and chairs. Scar and Tango sat beside him, one looking determined and the other slightly nervous. Everyone sat in an awkward silence for a few moments.

“Let’s start by writing down what we know.” Tango pulled out sheets of paper and a pen. “Okay, so first…”

An hour later, they had come up with a list of what happened, starting on the morning of the day Mumbo disappeared. 

-Iskall got the tag from Grian

-He got Xisuma to go to sleep

-Mumbo disappeared

-Everyone looked for him

-Impulse and Ren stayed with Grian

-Nobody found anything

-Impulse and Ren disappeared

“Next, we should keep track of who talked to who last. Maybe they’d know something about it.”

Cleo spoke up. “Just before Mumbo disappeared, I think X asked him for some concrete.” A few hermits nodded, recalling the message.

“Impulse was with me the whole day.”

“And Ren was with Doc, I believe.” Stress added. Cub nodded.

“Tango, did Impulse mention anything?” Tango’s face scrunched up slightly, trying to remember.

“Um...I don’t think so- wait.” He held up a finger. “Before we started looking, X wanted to ask Impulse and Ren something.”

“Did he say what X asked him?”

The blonde frowned a little. “No, I don’t think so. X is acting kinda weird though, don’t you think?” He recounted the points that he made to Impulse.

“Y’know, Tango has a point.” xB pointed out. “He’s not really acting like himself.”   
  
“Maybe he feels responsible. He  **is** the admin after all.” Beef argued. Cub clapped his hands together, discontinuing the conversation.

“How about we just go ask him.”

~

The light atmosphere of the end soothed Xisuma as he laid on one of the many floating islands. He allowed the air to seep into his lungs, helmet discarded beside him. The end dimension was the only place where he could breathe without his helmet. Once, a long time ago, the end was his home, and while he didn’t live there anymore, it still brought a feeling of reassurance. X dived into his thoughts, not being able to ignore them anymore. On one hand, something told him what he did was wrong, and he should stop right now, before he does anything  **really** bad. On the other hand, he felt like he did what he had to do. They had tried to take Grian away from him, had they not?

He pushes the first side out of his head.

He focused on Grian, the hermit that was always so energetic, like a candle, warm and bright. Mischievous, but caring. A soft smile crept its way onto Xisuma’s face as he remembered the one person he was infatuated with. Yeah, he’d do anything for Grian.

~

Beef gazed into the distance, eyes glazed over as he waited for his business partner to show up to their meeting. The sound of villagers mumbling over each other just barely broke the silence. He checked his clock. Normally, Etho was relatively on time. A spike of worry shot through him.  _ What if something happened to him?  _ He sprinted to the chest that held his tools and fumbled with his rockets.

He found what he was looking for.

Or rather, he didn’t.

~

“That doesn’t look right. Maybe one block lower.” Scar mumbled to himself as he adjusted the lantern on the exterior of his trading hall, which broke somehow, yet again.  _ I’ll have to ask Mumbo on how to fix-  _ A pang of sadness hit him and he winced, remembering what had happened. However, that sadness was soon replaced with determination. He  **will** find out what happened to his friends.

As he placed the finishing touches on the house, Scar thought he could hear a soft sniffle. The wizard whipped his head around, trying to spot the source of the noise. When he found nothing, he turned back to chucking items into his chest monster.

_ Sniff. _

“Hello?” He crept along the edge of the jungle.

_ Sniff. _

He pushed back a cluster of leaves to see a flash of bright red.

“Grian? Are you okay?” He pulled his friend into a hug, patting his back. Grian clung to him.

“I just- I don’t know what’s happening, everyone that’s basically talked to me is disappearing!” He cried. “Mumbo wanted to talk, Impulse and Ren took care of me, a-and I met up with Etho in the shopping district and now he’s gone as well. Maybe I’m making them leave…” Scar’s blood chilled.  _ Etho as well?  _ He pushed the fact aside. 

“It is most definitely not your fault. It’s gonna be okay. We’re gonna find out what caused them to disappear and bring them back, I promise. It’s going to be okay.” He repeated the words again and again periodically until the smaller hermit stopped crying. Grian wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his jumper.

“Thanks Scar.” 

The wizard smiled. “No problem at all. Say, do you want to blow something up? I’ve got a space that needs to be hollowed out, so I can go to the nether.”

“That’d be nice.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so a few things:
> 
> 1.I'm sorry this chapter's a bit shorter, it really kicked my butt. :P
> 
> 2\. Some of you may or may not have realized this but there's no 'real' timeline for this fic. It's just mostly me smushing stuff together when it is convenient for the plot. \\_(o~o)_/
> 
> 3.Thank you so much to everyone that's read this! I honestly kinda expected no one to read this since I'm not very good at writing, but boy was I wrong. ilu! <3


	5. Four Investigation Purposes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw:Panic Attack

Scar draped a blanket over Grian’s shoulders, who was sitting on a stool, warming his hands on a bowl of soup, before he settled in his own seat with another dish. The sudden rainstorm had interrupted their explosion session, and they had run back to Larry. However, they still got decently wet.

“Are you feeling better?”

Grian nodded, swallowing his mouthful of soup. “Yeah. Thanks Scar.”

“No problem. It really isn’t your fault.” The two sat in silence, listening to the rain splash down on the wooden shell.

“You wanna stay here? It’s raining pretty hard out there. Besides, we’re technically supposed to stick together.”

A small grin grew on Grian’s face. “No need to convince me. I’ll be happy to stay, if you don’t mind.”

Scar smiled softly. “Good. Are you done?” He gestured to the bowl. The red-sweatered hermit nodded quickly and pushed the dish across the table.

“You can go through my chests for some wool.” He turned towards the sink to wash the dishes.

After a few minutes of rifling through the chest monster, Grian still couldn’t find any wool. He called out to Scar about his lack of organization (not that he was really any better).

“Dang it. I’ll have to check the chests outside.” He moved over to the door when Grian caught his sleeve.

“It’s fine. I can sleep on the floor.”

Scar playfully glared at him. “If anyone’s sleeping on the floor, it’s going to be me. You take the bed.”

“But I-” He was cut off.

“No buts!”

~

“You look uncomfortable.” Grian stated.

“I’m fine. Go to sleep.”

“Nu-uh. Nope.” He pulled Scar off the floor with surprising force and plopped him on the bed beside him. “There.”

The wizard blushed. “It- I’m really fine sleeping on the floor.” He tried to slide off the bed, but Grian caught him in his arms and flipped him over so that he was lying directly on top of him, pinning him down.

“Go to sleep.” He ordered, then promptly did so himself.

Scar sighed, half contently, half exasperatingly. _ This might take awhile.  _

~

Xisuma shook his head lightly, clicking his tongue. “It’s really too bad, Scar.” He whispered from his crouched position, invisible. He had teleported himself to Grian, just to check in. It hurt a bit, to see his crush so close to someone else, but it wasn’t his fault. X hadn’t told him yet, anyway. He needed to wait until Grian would 100% accept his confession. X quickly left the snail and went back to his own base. Not bothering to sit down, he typed the same command that caused the others to vanish.

_ /ban GoodtimeswithScar _

“Where’s Scar?” Cleo asked the next morning. They were at another meeting in the pyramid. 

“I don’t know. I’m sure he just overslept or something.” Tango drummed his fingers on the table as Cub pulled out his communicator to open his private chat with Scar.

<Cubfan135>: Scar we have a meeting

[Error!: Message not sent]

_ Weird.  _ He frowned at the screen and tried again.

<Cubfan135>:Scar?

[Error!: Message not sent]

“Something weird’s happening. Look.” He held out his communicator and everyone clustered around him.

“Error, message not sent.” Iskall read out.

Murmurs of ‘ _ What does that mean?’  _ and ‘ _ Is Scar okay?’  _ travelled around the room. Cub held up a hand.

“Let’s wait a few more minutes, and if he still doesn’t come we’ll go look for him.” He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.

_Please_ _let him be okay._

~

A small meow woke Grian up. He tried to rub his eyes, but then realized his limbs were tangled in… branches?

“Scar?” He called out. The cat meowed again.

“Hello Jellie. Have you seen Scar?” At this point, Grian felt a little ridiculous, still stuck in a bush, and tried to untangle himself gently.

“Why was I even in a bush?” He grumbled as the twigs clawed at him, leaving shallow scratches on exposed patches of skin. Once he was fully out, a throbbing pain at the back of his head startled him. A big lump had seemingly just appeared out of thin air (it didn’t he just didn’t notice it before). 

_ Today’s a weird day. First I wake up in a bush, now I have a random bump on my head. Maybe I hit it on something? Where even am I?  _ He observed his surroundings, still half asleep.  _ Still in the jungle. Where’s Scar? _

“Scar?” He yelled. Footsteps approached him.

“Grian?” It was Tango, followed by many others. “What happened?”

As he told the story, the group exchanged nervous glances.

“Oh, and Jellie’s here.” He rubbed Jellie under her chin and noticed her collar was gone.

“Grian… We’re pretty sure Scar’s gone.”

A second passed, then the full weight of what Tango told him hit Grian, and tears filled his vision. “What? You’re kidding right?”

Once they had calmed Grian down (somewhat), they agreed to take him to Joe so he could take a look at his head. Stress picked up Jellie.

“Let’s go.”

~

“Howdy y’all.” The man answered his door, slightly shocked at the large group of hermits. “What brings you here?”

They quickly explained the situation and Joe frowned slightly.

“I see. Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of Grian. Do notify me if you find anything, please.”

“Of course. See you.” The sound of launched rockets filled the air as the  _ Stargazers  _ left the area. Worry glazed Joe’s eyes but he shook his head to clear the fog. Right now, he had more urgent matters to take care of.

“Let’s take a look at that head.”

~

_ Meow! _

The Stargazers were now back at their ‘headquarters’, and Jellie was meowing very loudly, constantly. Now she stood near the door, looking back at them. Cleo, who was sitting the closest to the door, opened it and Jellie stalked out, waving her tail high in the air. The group continued to theorize and tried to formulate a plan of sorts (not really getting anywhere). After all, they had no substantial clues. After another hour or two of pointless debate, they all decided to go back to their bases for the night.

In the jungle, a soggy white and gray cat fell asleep at the base of a very large, very omega tree.

~

“That should feel better now.” Joe finished wrapping a bandage around Grian’s head. The latter patted it gingerly, wincing slightly at the pain. A second later, the poet batted his fingers away.

“I would advise that you don’t touch it. You should go to sleep now, it’s been a long day for you.” Grian nodded and flopped on his stomach.

~

_ “Why didn’t you save us Grian?” Mumbo said, hovering in front of him. “Why couldn’t you save us?” One by one, all his friends that had vanished appeared behind him. _

_ “You made us disappear, Grian.” Scar’s normally melodic voice was harsh. _

_ “You could have tried harder to look for us.” _

_ “This was your fault.” _

_ “I hate you.” _

_ “You’re not my friend anymore.” The hateful words tore at him, singeing his lungs.  _

_ “W-wait,” He rasped out. “I’m sorry.” They stared at him with cold, unforgiving eyes. _

_ “‘Sorry’ won’t bring us back.” Their voices melded into one. “We can’t come back and it’s your fault.” Grian reached out for them, but they were quickly turning to dust, crumbling away before his eyes. He crawled into a ball, hands around his head as the words of his friends pushed down on him, weighing him down like a heavy anchor. He couldn’t breathe, but that was fine, because he deserved to perma-die,because of what he did to his friends. _

~

Grian clutched his head, trying to convince himself that the nightmare he just had wasn’t real, his friends weren’t really mad at him. He swallowed the pain from touching his injured head and the world morphed into a dark sea.

The hermit was unaware of his harsh, uneven breathing and the thumping footsteps that grew closer and threw back the covers over his head. A reassuring voice was distant but it was there and Grian tried to crawl to it, but he was surrounded by dark, bitter syrup that dragged his limbs down. He choked on it, still slowly crawling to the light, and a warm touch made the syrup a little less dense, a little less bitter. Soon, the light was within reach, and Grian grabbed it, holding onto it like a lifesaver in the middle of the ocean. The darkness around him melded back into the walls of Joe’s winery. Something wet trailed down his face and he loosened the grip on the other man to wipe it away.

“Grian?” Joe held him by the shoulders and stared at him intently behind his glasses. “Breathe with me, alright?” The smaller hermit hiccuped and nodded, just now noticing how erratic his breathing was.

“In... Out... In...” After several minutes, it was apparent that Grian had calmed down. Joe wordlessly took him to the small living room and entered the connected kitchen, where he returned a few minutes later with two mugs of hot chocolate. They sat silently on the couch, shoulder to shoulder, sipping their drinks until Grian fell asleep, head on Joe’s shoulder. The poet leaned back slightly and dozed off as well, unaware of the abnormal breeze that stirred in front of him.

~

“So what do you wanna do?” Stress perched on the top of Iskall’s tree, swinging her legs.

“We could help each other with... stuff?”

“Very specific.”

“Shush.” The two smiled.

“We can work on the branches,” He handed her a shulker box of wood. “ If you want.”

Stress glanced down at the box of wood.

“Guess I don’t have much of a choice, do I?” She grumbled good-naturedly.

~

X frowned as he caught sight of Grian’s bandaged head. As much as he didn’t want Joe to get close to Grian, he was the best at first aid on the server and therefore, the best person who could take care of Grian’s wounds right now. I really need to be more careful. I don’t want to see him hurt again.

~

One moment her feet were firmly planted on the solid bark of the branch, the next she had taken a misstep and was now falling. Stress tried to activate her elytra, only to find that it was broken. Searching her inventory frantically, she came across stacks and stacks of wood along with some enderpearls. The brown haired girl then tossed one to the ground, hoping that it would land before her and absorb most of the impact.

_ Shwoop. _

The teal orb landed on the ground seconds before her death and she teleported down safely, flopping on her back as she tried to catch her breath. Something warm nudged her hand.

“Jellie? Where’d you come from, love?” The cat purred as Stress rubbed her chin.

“Stress? Where did you go?” Iskall called in the distance. Not bothering to shout, she pulled out her communicator and sent him a message, asking him to bring an extra elytra. The man arrived shortly with a concerned look.

“Are you alright?” He pulled her to her feet. 

“I’m fine. I fell off but I saved meself with an enderpearl!” She couldn’t help but feel a little proud of her quick thinking.

Iskall caught sight of the gray and white cat behind her. “Is that Jellie?”

“Yup!” She stooped down to pat the soft head.

Iskall stared in disbelief. “Dude, the pyramid is so far away! How did she even get here so quick?”

Stress gave no response. Jellie butted her hand, looking at her pitifully and letting out a small meow.

“What’s wrong?” She lowered herself until she was face to face with the cat.

“Hungry, maybe?” Iskall suggested and scooped Jellie up. Surprisingly, she made no hostile movements despite being picked up quickly. “I probably have some fish.” Stress nodded and followed him into the tree.

After preparing some food for the cat, Iskall made two simple sandwiches and handed one to Stress, sitting beside her on the grass.

“Have you thought of anything yet?” The man gazed blankly at the sky.

“No, not really. I really want to figure it out, but there are so few clues...” He sighed. “I wonder where they are now, or if they can even be brought back.”

Mreow!

They look over to see Jellie by the small doorway of the tree, staring at them for a moment before exiting. “Should we go get her?” Stress nodded.

“Who knows where she’ll go if we don’t.” After dusting the crumbs off their clothes, they followed Jellie’s path.

~

“Where in the world is she going?” The two, after being hissed and lightly scratched at, had decided to follow Jellie. Neither could tell if she was just taking a stroll or if she actually had a place in mind to go. Suddenly, after trekking through a particular hilly portion of the jungle, the gray and white cat stopped and stopped them, pawing at the ground. Iskall frowned.

“Is there something special about this spot?” Stress looked around.

“Seems like normal jungle to me. Get the coords though, just in case. Maybe it is special somehow.” Seeming satisfied at their conclusion, Jellie walked off again, this time towards the east. The man groaned, but they were both curious. Where is Jellie leading us?

~

Stress’ base came into view as they continued to follow the cat.

“Maybe she didn’t like your tree and wants to stay at me base instead.” However, Jellie didn’t stop there and they continued for a few minutes before the cat stopped at the edge of the mesa, digging a small dent in the red sand.

“That’s where Ren’s hangar used to be, right?” He pointed to a spot a bit farther away. Stress hummed in agreement, brows furrowed. Why is she taking us to all these odd places? The cat started to move again and they followed soundlessly.

This time, Jellie brought them to the ocean, only hesitating for a second before she jumped in and started paddling with her front paws. Iskall quickly lifted her out of the water.

“Wherever we are going, you are not going to swim there.” He told the cat sternly. “We can cross it with the elytra.” Jellie in his arms, he launched a rocket (with some difficulty) and soared into the sky, Stress trailing behind them.

About 10 minutes of flying later, Jellie let out a meow and looked up at Iskall.

“Here? Alright, let me land over there.” He motioned for Stress to land as well. They were on the outskirts of a decently sized desert village. The inhabitants of the town wandered around, talking and trading with one another.

“Coordinates?” The brown haired woman asked.

Iskall held up his communicator. “Gottem. Anywhere else you’d like to go?” He leaned over to pet the cat before she scampered off farther inland.

~

“I swear, if she leads us to another random part of the jungle...” Iskall was saying before Jellie stopped in the middle of the green vegetation. Stress burst out laughing and Iskall joined in a few moments later. They collected themselves (and their location) a few minutes later and the trio moved on, this time back to their own jungle before she sat down at a spot beside a lake, looking a bit sad. The two recognized the area and Stress picked Jellie up.

“Aw, do you miss Scar? I do too. But it’s fine! We’ll find him, and everyone else too.” She rubbed her sweet spot under her chin and she purred. “Anymore places to visit?”

Rather than leading them to another patch of wilderness, Jellie paused in front of Grian’s mansion. They looked at each other and shrugged. Jellie was a cat after all.

~

Iskall glanced around them nervously, one hand on his sword as he looked for any danger. The sun had started to set and they were in a denser part of the jungle, a prime spot for mobs to appear and attack. The thick canopy formed a layer above their heads, making it impossible to fly out unscathed.

“We should probably go back.”

“I was thinking the same thing. Come on Jellie, we have to go.” The cat only ran farther into the trees.

“Jellie it’s not safe!” Iskall chased after her, but the jungle did a good job of tripping him up with its roots and low branches.

“There’s light!” Stress shouted, pointing to a gap in the trees where the gray and white cat had ran. The two sprinted towards it, escaping the monsters that were beginning to spawn.

“This is X’s base? Why...?” She trailed off.

“Whatever. Let’s just go home.” The man had already picked up the cat in his arms and the two of them flew back towards the giant tree, three phantoms screeching high above them.

~

The letter of his panel blurred together into a blob of light, melding into one another and swimming around. It would be safe now, to ban Joe. Grian had recovered and moved back to his mansion.

_ /ban j _

Two options flashed, prompting him to choose one and finish the command. In his bleary haze his hand twitched, guiding the mouse from where it had been hovering over the second option to the first. He clicked, gave it a moment to process, then turned the panel off. X could hear the distant screeches of the phantoms and he stumbled into his bed, falling asleep moments later.

~

_ A knock on the door of Keralis’ office made him jump a little, distracting him from his paperwork. “Come in!” Beef walked in, much to Keralis’ surprise. _

_ “Oh hello Beef! What brings you here?”  _

_ “Actually, I have a favour.” _

_ “What is it? Do you need books?” _

_ “No, but X hasn’t been acting like himself, and we’re kinda concerned.” He fiddled with the strings of his apron. “So...” _

_ “You want me to check on him?” Keralis guessed. _

_ Beef smiled. “Would you mind?” _

_ “Not at all. I haven’t seen Shashswammy in a while either. It’ll be nice if we could catch up.” _

_ “Okay thanks Keralis. Oh, and let me know if he’s acting strange. See ya!” He exited the diamond encrusted office with a wave and closed the door behind him. _

~

So now he stood on the landing bay of Xisuma’s main tower, trying to find a place to knock that would make a loud enough sound web suddenly the man himself appeared from a water elevator.

“Oh hey Keralis. What do you need help with?”

“ I’m just here to visit!” He smiled, and X mirrored him.

“Okay then. Let me get the tea, and we can chat.”

Over the next hour, the two talked about their progress in the world and told jokes. However, when Keralis brought up the missing hermits, X stiffened and refused to add more to the subject. Two more had disappeared the previous day, and Keralis, though he didn’t show it, was getting worried. Eventually, the friends parted ways and Keralis pulled out his communicator to message Beef.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I haven't been updating, basically my motivation just died  
> But it's back from the dead  
> still not a hundred percent tho  
> I'll try to stick to the schedule but I might miss a week or two  
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> -Diamond_Sylvie


	6. Five Incidents

“Okay so has anyone got any clues?” Cub called out to the group. Everyone stayed quiet. Tango sighed.

“This isn’t going to work. Jevin and Joe have disappeared too. That’s seven people!” 

“I know that you’re frustrated, but yelling won’t help.” 

“I just- ugh.”

“Hello Jellie!” Stress cooed.”Are you still tired from that adventure yesterday?” Cleo looked at them skeptically.

“What’d you do?”

“Jellie led us to a bunch of places. They were pretty random, although she did go to where Ren’s hangar used to be.” Iskall piped up.

“Do you know where those places were?” Zedaph asked curiously.

Iskall shook his head. “We did get the coordinates though.”

“Can we see?”

“Yeah sure.” He pulled out his communicator and unlocked it. “Here.”

He began to explain where each of the places were. “The first one was in the jungle, and it was hilly. The second one was Ren’s area. The third was a desert village.” Hypno pulled out a map of their world.

“They’re all pretty close to our bases.”

“The desert village looks familiar.” Tango commented. “Wait! The village was Impulse’s starter base!” He exchanged a look with Iskall. “Why does Jellie know where that is?”

“Hm.” Zed was deep in thought. “Weren’t Impulse and Ren the second ones to disappear?”

“Mumbo  _ did  _ have to clear out a lot of land for his base…” Iskall commented. Everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath for a second before they concentrated back onto the coordinates.

“Etho was next…”   
  


“And then Scar…”

“Did Jellie go to the winery area?”

Stress shook her head. “No. It was a couple days before Joe and Jevin disappeared. While Jellie’s a smart cat, I don’t think that she can predict the future.”

Tango looked up. “All the coordinates match up. What does Grian and X have to do with anything, though?” He pointed at the last two sets of numbers.

“No idea.”

“Impulse did say something about X being weird...”

“You think we should go check on him?”

“Yeah, but... none of us are really that close to him.”

“Then who?”

“I’ll ask Keralis.”

“Should we go check on Grian as well?”

Iskall offered to go, and the group split up once again.

~

For the second time that week, someone was falling out of Iskall’s tree.

This time, it was Iskall himself. A well-hidden skeleton had landed a shot on him, knocking him off the branch. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the impact that would send him back to his bed.

“ISKALL!” A heavy force rammed into him and knocked him off to the side. Seconds later, he landed in the water with a big splash.

“What... Grian?”

“Jeez, if you were planning on taking a nosedive you should’ve told me.” He said, flexing his wrists to make sure nothing was broken. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Just a bit wet. That was good timing. Thanks.”

“No worries. Have you got anything to do? Or do you just want to catch up?” Grian asked, still rubbing his wrists.

“Actually, I gotta go meet up with False and Wels in a little bit. I can ask them if I can bring you, if you want.” Iskall pulled out his communicator, already beginning to type.

“It’s okay, you really don’t have to-“ He was cut off by Iskall sending the message.

“Done! You do want to go, right?”

“I mean, sure? You’ve already invited me anyway, so...” He let the sentence trail off.

“Nice! Thanks again with the superman thing you did. So why did you come here?”

“I was just flying around, then...”

~

Xisuma flew over the roof of the mansion, looking for its owner. Now was the time, but  _ where is Grian? _

Flying over Iskall’s tree, he spotted a familiar shade of red. He swooped down to meet it.

“Oh hi X!” Grian said with a smile. Iskall nodded at him.

“Hi Grian. Oh and Iskall too. Actually, can I talk to Grian for a second?”

“Uh, sure-“ X grabbed Grian’s wrist, causing him to cry out in pain.

“Oh sorry! Are you okay?”

“ Yeah, they’re just a bit sore.” He mumbled, rubbing them.

On closer inspection they appeared to be a bit red. X turned to Iskall.

“Did you do this?”

The one eyed man stepped back. “Wait, what?”

“Did you hurt Grian?”

Iskall looked aghast. “Of course not! He’s my friend!”

X turned back to Grian. “Did he do this?”

“No? What’s wrong X? Why would you accuse Iskall?”

X simply flew away, leaving a trail of firework smoke behind him.

~

The duo watched Xisuma fly away, on edge.

“Let’s just go meet up with False and Wels. This time it’s at Wels’ house.”

Grian nodded. “Nice! I haven’t seen it yet.”

~

“Please ignore the path. It’s misleading.” Wels led them to one of the doors. “Welcome to my humble abode.”

The three visitors stared at the beautiful interior. 

“How did you finish this so quick?”

“Magic.” He shoved Wels on the shoulder. “Anyway, I made tea. Since the weather’s so nice, I set up a table outside.”

They sat at the table, chatting about this and that. The three warriors exchanged stories while Grian listened curiously. Eventually, the hot tea and the warm sun on his back, along with his sleep-deprivation, made him sleepy. He yawned, placing his head on his friend’s should next to him, then promptly fell asleep.

Iskall and False, who were sitting across from Wels and Grian, looked at him.

Wels shrugged carefully, as if to say ‘I don’t know.’

A breeze swished beside him.

~

X rolled to a stop, invisible in a bush. He growled softly, watching Grian slip off into dreamland.

_ You’ll be mine soon. _

~

<iskall85>:emergency meeting

No one responded, but they all began to arrive at the room relatively quickly.

“So, what’s the ‘emergency meeting about?” Tango questioned, leaning against a wall.

“X was acting really, really weird.”

“How?”

“Like… He was really protective of Grian. I fell off my tree and then he pushed me into the water, then X came and then accused me of hurting Grian.”

Everyone fell silent, contemplating his words.

“Do you think X has something to do with the people disappearing?”

“Yeah, I-”

He never finished his sentence.

“What- Where…?”

Stress turned ghostly white. “Did he d-disappear?”

They stared at the spot he was standing on.

“Oh no.”

~

“Shashswammy!” Keralis yelled from the entrance of X’s tower. 

It was still early morning, but X wasn’t sleeping anyway, so it didn’t really matter.

“What is it?” He ran his fingers through the mop of hair.

“I’m coming to live with you!”

Xisuma blinked.  _ I was  _ **_not_ ** _ expecting that. _ “But why…?”

“Look at you, Shashswammy. You’ve been getting no sleep! The phantoms are everywhere!” He waved his hands in the air as he talked.

“I  _ have _ been sleeping!” He protested.

Keralis sighed. “No you haven’t. You look like you haven’t slept in years! You are taking a nap. Right now!”

He dragged X to the nearest bed and pushed him onto it. “Sleep!” 

“Okay, okay. You can stay.” He slurred his words slightly, already half asleep.

“Good night, Shashwammy.”

~

“Can I talk to you for a second?” False stopped Cubfan in the shopping district.

“Sure. What is it?” He straightened out his lab coat.

False fidgeted with her leather gloves. “Actually, I was wondering if I could join the Stargazers. I really want to help find out what happened, and you might need someone for PvP.”

“Oh yeah, of course! We’d love to have another pair of eyes on the case. Welcome to the  _ Stargazers _ , False.”

She shook his hand, determination shining in her eyes. “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two posts in one day?  
> What?
> 
> Yeah I almost didn't get to finish the chapter today, but I did and I'm glad I did.
> 
> I've also finished the whole outline, so chapters should be fairly consistant.
> 
> Feel free to leave any predictions in the comments!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> -Diamond_Sylvie


	7. Six Excuses

Grian flew over the ocean in a stony silence. Normally, he would have hummed or made up one of his songs, but after the events of the last few days, he simply couldn’t bring himself to. Thoughts churned in his head, far rougher than the small waves below him.

_ What happened to them? Can I bring them back? Where are they? Can they even be brought back, or are they gone...? _ He refused to say the words, even in his head. A dark cloud had rolled in above him and rain was starting to fall. It was apparent that a storm would hit very soon. Grian sighed, landing on the edge of the ocean to make sure he had enough elytra durability and rockets. His elytra was fine, but he was a little low on rockets, so he opened his ender chest to grab more.

“Grian? What are you doing here?” A deep voice rang out behind him and he whipped his head around, squinting through the rain and light mist.

“Oh uh, hi Doc. Nothing much, just making sure I have more rockets.”

The aforementioned hermit took a step towards him and he shrank back a little.

“Are you okay? You look nervous. Have you been sleeping?”

He shrugged. “Yeah. Well, kinda. I’m just... on edge. Because everyone’s disappearing for no reason?”

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay. We’ll find out what made them disappear and then bring them back. In the meantime, do you want to watch a movie with me and Bdubs? We’re kinda stressed too, so we decided to watch a movie to take our minds off it for a little bit.” 

Grian shrugged again. “Why not? So what movie are you guys watching?” He asked as they made their way up the sandy path. The wind had picked up and now they almost had to shout to be heard over it.

“It’s a rom-com that Bdubs chose. Either it’s pretty good or downright terrible. Fifty-fifty.”

“Fair enough.”

~

_ Gross. _

Bdubs gagged internally as he snuck a glance to the other side of the couch, where Doc and Grian were in the very generic ‘I’m cuddling my boyfriend while watching a movie’ position, with Grian’s head resting on Doc’s shoulder and Doc’s arm around him, pulling him close.

_ Jeez. How oblivious can you be? _

He turned his focus back to the screen, where the movie was still playing. If he was being honest, it wasn’t one of his better choices. It had gotten boring at about the half hour mark, but the other two seemed to be enjoying it, so he bit his tongue and observed them instead.

Doc now had his head leaning lightly on Grian’s and their fingertips were entwined together. If Bdubs didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought they were engaged or something.

_ Y’all are so oblivious!  _ He yelled in his mind, then sighed.

_ This is going to be a long hour and a half. _

~

Xisuma pushed the blanket off himself as soon as he saw the sun rising. Keralis was still snoring lightly across the room, but X never fell asleep. He had laid in bed all night, thinking of nothing in particular. Or maybe not nothing in particular, but as soon as he tried to grasp what he was thinking about, it slipped away and he couldn’t remember.

_ Oh well. _

As he leaned against a counter, waiting for the water to boil, Bdubs suddenly swooped in from out of the sky, making him jump.

“Oh hi Bdubs. What can I do for you?”

“Actually, I was looking for Keralis. Do you know where he is?” 

X pointed to the bedroom door. “In there. He’s still sleeping though. Want some tea?”

“Uh, no thanks. I’ll just wait for him to wake up.”

The two hermits sat in silence, X sipping his tea and Bdubs checking his communicator once in a while. About 10 minutes later, Keralis shuffled out of the bedroom, still looking half asleep. 

“Good morning Shashwammy, and Bubbles? What are you doing here so early?” 

“I came to talk to you about something!” 

X walked to his ‘panel room’ and closed the door behind him, sensing that the two wanted to be left alone. He booted up the machinery and began to scroll through the endless white text. However, he stopped when he heard Bdubs, from the other room, say Grian’s name. Quietly, he made his way to the door and pressed his ear against it. It wasn’t very hard to eavesdrop, seeing as Bdubs talked relatively loudly.

“-so then I just sat there while they just, like, cuddled on the other end of the couch! What was I supposed to do about that? Ugh, that was so awkward!”

X frowned and pressed his ear even closer to the door. He could just barely hear Keralis, who was not as loud as his friend.

“Okay Bubbles. Did you just come here to complain about third-wheeling Doc and Brian or is there something else?”

Brian? Oh wait, isn’t that what Keralis calls Grian? That means...

He walked back over to his desk and sighed.

_ Another one. _

“-think I need some books as well.” X could still catch snippets of their conversation.

“Let’s go to my base then.” The footsteps faded and X left the room, poking his head out at first to check that they were truly gone.

~

“False has decided to join us in our investigation.” Cub announced. They were back in the small room in the pyramid, ready for another meeting.

“Good to have you, False.” Everyone else echoed Tango’s greeting.

“Alright. Our main suspect is still X, right?”

“Wait, why X?” False interrupted. They told her the story, filling in parts that others missed.

“That _ is _ very suspicious. But... why? He isn’t normally like this.”

“What if... No, that doesn’t make sense.”

“What if we just go ask him?” Everyone turns to Zed.

“That’s... not actually that bad of an idea.” Stress said slowly. “If he is the person who did this then I’d like to know why, and if they can be brought back.”

“But what if we disappear too? Then what?” Cleo argued.

“I agree with Cleo. If we all disappear there’s no one left that knows.” Hypno said.

“But that’s the best chance we have of trying to figure out what happened, and why.” Tango shot back. “There’s no way we’re gonna figure it out otherwise.”

Cub clapped his hands together before the argument could escalate any further. “Let’s not argue. That won’t help. If you want to go talk to X, raise your hand.”

Zed, Stress, False, Tango, and TFC raised their hands.

“And those who don’t want to?”

Cleo, xB, Beef, and Hypno raised their hand.

“Five to four. Sorry guys.”

“Cub, if you join us we’ll be even.” Hypno pointed out.

“I’m staying neutral. We should prepare some questions for X.”

The four opposing grumbled, but tried to brainstorm ideas anyway. After all, all they wanted to do was to bring their friends back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this fic going to be updated daily until I finish it?
> 
> Yes.
> 
> Did I write this chapter while I was supposed to be sleeping?
> 
> Also yes :)
> 
> Sorry for the chapter being a lil' bit shorter
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> -Diamond_Sylvie


	8. Seven Lies

“Oh hello. Um, what brings you here?” X slowly backed up, away from the large group that had gathered around him. They exchanged glances, before Stress stepped forward.

“Hey X. We just want to ask you a few questions, is that alright?” She smiled.

“Sure…?” He answered hesitantly.  _ Just a few questions, right? Shouldn’t be too hard. Maybe just some stuff that needs fixing. _

“Mind if we go somewhere?” He shook his head.

“Lead the way.”

~

“What is this place?” The group had led him to a well-furnished cave, lined with quartz and light blue concrete. In the middle of the room was a table and a few chairs scattered around the room. They didn’t answer his question, but instead told him to take a seat.

“So, do you know why we wanted to ask you some questions?” He shook his head.

“That’s okay. We wanted to ask you about the hermits disappearing. Do you know anything about it?”

WIthout hesitation, he shook his head. They  _ couldn’t  _ know about Grian. Who knew what they’d do?

“Are you sure?” This time, he took a second to answer. 

“Y-yes.”

“What do you think happened to them?” He shrugged, not wanting to give much away.

The Stargazers exchanged glances. He hadn’t sounded very sure when he said he didn’t know about the disappearances. Maybe distraction would work when straight-up asking didn’t.

“You know we won’t get mad right? We just want to know why they’re gone, and if they can be brought back.”

“They can be brought back-” He slapped a hand over his mouth.

“So you  _ do _ know how they can be brought back. Do you know how they disappeared?”

X held his head in his hands, shaking it from side to side.

“Okay, well then, do you know why they vanished?”

“ _ Grian.” _ He whispered before pushing himself from the table and running out the cave. The others followed him quickly.

“Wait X! Where’re you going?” The helmeted man just kept running, jumping through a nether portal.

  
  


_ You told them too much why did you do that why why why WHY _

THe thought attacked his mind as he launched rocket after rocket in the air above the nether roof. 

_ I’m sorry that I told you too much. _

The purple swirls of his own portal engulfed him and transported him to the white concrete platform of the pedestal. He quickly flew into the launch bay of his living tower and pushed past Keralis and Bdubs, who were shouting things at him but he ignored them and slammed the door to his panel room, frantically typing in names and pressing backspace when he made a mistake (which was quite a lot). He knew he had to ban all of them before they caught up.

~

“Shashwammy! What happened?” His friend only pushed past him and hurled into his small office.

“Uh-”

“HAVE YOU SEEN X?” Tango yelled as he landed in the kitchen section of the tower.

“What happened?” Bdubs questioned, confusion written onto his face. Keralis was sure that his own face was a mirror of his.

“Uh basically we asked X a bunch of questions and then he kinda freaked out and ran back here.” Zed rambled quickly without pausing to take a breath.

“Um okay, he’s in the office room thing.” Keralis pointed towards the door. They all rushed in and the duo turned away.

“Should we come back later?”

“Yeah maybe.”

~

“Bubbles, it’s been more than 2 hours and there are no messages… Do you think they’re okay?”

“I’m sure they’re okay, maybe they’re just taking a while to talk it out. We’ll go back when it’s sunset. Surely they’ll be done by then.” Bdubs bit his lip.

~

“Shashwammy?” Keralis knocked gently on the admin’s door. “Are you still in there?”

No response.

Gingerly he turned the knob and cracked the door open. There was X, unconscious, witn his face resting on the keyboard and his hand still on the enter key.

He called out his friend’s name once more and when he didn’t stir, Keralis stole a look at the screen.

_ What? Did… did he…? He couldn’t have, right? But why?  _ He turned his gaze towards his friend once more.

_ Shashwammy… Were you the one who made everyone disappear? Why?  _ Tears began welling up in his wide eyes.  _ Why?  _ He asked the sleeping admin silently, wet drops falling down his face.

~

Xisuma groaned as he sat up, rubbing at the key imprints that were on his face. The white letters flickered in front of him, mocking him of his mistakes.  _ If only I hadn’t said anything.... I wouldn't have needed to ban them.  _

“Xisuma?” He was surprised to hear Keralis’ voice say his real name. The wide eyed hermit poked his head into the room. “We need to talk.”

~

“What is it?” He asked nervously.this was the second time in two days that he had been asked to ‘talk to’ , and the first had everyone involved disappear.

Keralis and Bdubs sat on the sofa, side by side, while X perched on the armchair.

“Xisuma, were you the one who made everyone disappear?” Bdubs blurted out. Keralis nudged his side, a silent indicator to stop talking.

“I-I… Yeah.”

“But why? Why did you have to make them disappear?” He flinched at the sharp tone.

“I can’t say.”

Keralis stood up suddenly. “Why can’t you say? Who’s even left?” X forced his lips into a straight line, physically biting his tongue to stop from replying. 

Bdubs pulled out the list of people. Normally the list was full of colour from the various pictures of the hermits, but only four were left.

“Does this have anything to do with Grian?” He guessed.

X laughed nervously. “What makes you think that? Of course not!”

“Is he blackmailing you?”

His eyes widened in horror. “No! Why would you think that? I- This has nothing to do with Grian!” He couldn’t afford to stop now. He was so close-

“Oh yeah? Then why are you doing this? They’re your friends!”

“I have to!”

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to! Who’s making you?”

“I just...have to!” He sprinted towards the office and slammed the door behind him, barring it with his chair. Pounding could be heard through the door but soon, it stopped. X sat on the ground, head in his hands.

_ I’m sorry, but I had to. _

~

As he walked to his kitchen a few hours later, a realization hit him.

_ Who’s left? _ He pulled out his communicator and looked at the player list. Two faces, followed by two names.

_ Have I done it? _ Strapping on his elytra, he flew off towards the second person’s base.

~

Grian curled up tighter in his blankets. He hasn’t been out of his bed since, well, quite frankly, he didn’t know. After Doc disappeared, maybe? The whoosh of rockets fireworks surprised him.

“Who’s there?” He called out. X walked in from the unfinished hallway. 

“It’s me!” He called out cheerfully. “Can you do something for me?”

“Sure?”

Nervously, he told Grian where to meet him and to be there in 15 minutes. The place was only a five minute fly away, so it would give him some time to spare and to collect his thoughts.

“Um, okay. Why?”

“Just… please be there.”

~

When Grian arrived at the set of coordinates fifteen minutes later, he was surprised to find it was right under a beautifully designed tree.

“X? What did you want to talk about?” He admired the leaves of the tree. “Nice tree.”

“Um, thanks!” He could feel his blush brightening.  _ You can do this. _ He told himself. 

“I… I’ve had a crush on you for a while now. Like a really big one. So…” He stared at his feet. “Do you want to try?” 

Grian was not expecting this, to say the least. He honestly didn't know what he had been expecting. He stood in shocked silence for a few moments before making up his mind and opening his mouth to speak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D
> 
> Hopefully I actually manage to post daily until I finish and don't lose motivation
> 
> Hope you liked it!
> 
> -Diamond_Sylvie


	9. Here Goes Nothing

“Do you want to try?” After recovering from his shock, he spoke.

“I’m… I’m sorry X, but I don’t think I can accept. Don’t get me wrong, you’re a great guy, but… everyone I’ve gotten close to is gone. I don’t want you to disappear as well. I hope you understand.” He quickly flew off, trying to push down the guilt.  _ I hope he takes it well. _

X was not taking it well. Gasping for breath, he blinked at the place Grian had stood.  _ Why… Why didn’t he feel the same way?  _ He could feel his heart breaking.  _ I… _ Tears dripped down his face. He curled up on the ground. A leaf fluttered down, landing next to him. X sniffled and the tears fell faster, wetting the grass under him.

~

It was about a week after his confession fiasco, and X suddenly had a realization. He had been trying to work on his base, but the pattern of placing blocks had not distracted him as they always had. Even after an entire morning of working, he had made very little progress and Grian was still fresh in his mind.  _ What is life without motivation? _ He didn't want to work or to do anything, really.  _ Well, maybe if I tried again…  _ Sitting up, he pulled a spare book and quill and began to write, not wanting to face possible rejection in person again.

~

Grian spotted the lectern as he stretched, breathing in the fresh morning air. Curiously, he opened the book and began reading.

_ Dearest Grian, _

_ I still love you, but if you, after reading this, still reject my confession, then I will disappear because my life will not be complete without you. You are my everything, Grian. Please meet me in the same spot as last time at 4pm today if you change your mind. If you don’t, I will be gone by the next hour. _

_ Love, _

_ X _

_ P.S- I can find a way to bring them back sometime. _

  
  


Grian’s eyes widened as he read the note. His first thoughts after finishing it were:

_ If he leaves, then I’ll be alone. _

_ He said he could bring them back. _

_ Why me though? Why not someone else? _

_ I have to go. I have to get my friends back. _

He changed his mind. He has to at least try.

He’s sure that being with X isn’t such a bad thing. They were friends, after all. While Grian never developed any romantic feelings towards X, he had traits that Grian admired, like the laser-sharp focus that he had when he really needed to do something.

He made up his mind.

~

X paced around the tree and checked his communicator again.

_ 37 seconds until 4. _

He glanced up at the sky, where fluffy clouds drifted, and waited for a familiar red sweater to appear. Sure, there was no guarantee that he would come, but Xisuma still had hope.

_ 5...4...3...2- _

“Hi X.” He jumped a little, not expecting the man to land right in front of him, but a smile grew on his face a second later.

“Grian! I’m so glad you came!” He went forward to hug the red-sweatered hermit. He stiffened a little at first, but then relaxed and hugged X back.

“Yeah... How are you?” 

Xisuma smiled brightly. “Amazing, now that you’re here. Do you want to be my boyfriend?”

“Um, okay?” Grian said, the statement more of a question.

“Aw, don’t be scared. We can take it slow if you want.” He reached out to put a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, I think so.” Grian smiled back.  _ Maybe this won’t be too bad. _

~

_ A few months later. _

  
  


Xisuma awoke to sniffles coming from his left.

“What’s wrong?” He asked gently, not wanting to scare the smaller man.

“Oh, did I wake you up..? I’m sorry.” Grian wiped at the tears on his face, letting them drop into his lap. “I’m okay.”

X was not convinced. “Okay, but if you want to talk about it I’m here.” He enveloped Grian into a hug. 

~

“What’s going on? Did I do something?” He questioned Grian after he had cried again.

“It’s nothing.” He looked away. X placed his hands on his shoulders.

“It’s clearly not nothing if you’re upset about it. Did I do something?”

Grian quickly shook his head. “Don’t worry, it’s not you. I just- I miss them, you know? They were my friends.”

X considered it. He  _ had  _ promised himself that he would bring them back eventually.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Grian’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Yes, really. I want to see you happy too.”

~

He sat in front of his panel, fingers shaking slightly as he typed out a command.

_ /unban Mumbo Jumbo _

He had never needed to do this. Before, he very rarely used the ban commands, and there was no need to unban someone he had banned. X’s finger hovered over the enter key.

_ Here goes nothing. _

A second later, a message appeared under the command.

_ [Error!: Command failed] _

_ What? Why did it fail? _ He quickly typed the same letters, but with another name instead.

_ [Error!:Command failed] _

_ This is bad. What else can I do?  _ He racked his brain for ideas.

~

“How’s the thing going?” Grian asked at dinner that night.

X forced a smile on his face. “I’m still trying to figure it out, but I’m sure they’ll be back in no time.”

Grian smiled. “Thanks X.”

“Of course! I would give everything for you.”

~

“Hey Grian, can you come here?” X called out to him from his panel room. Grian rushed in, clearly excited.

“Did you figure it out?”

Xisuma frowned. “Sort of. I… found out that they were banned.”

“Is that it? There's an unban thing, right?” 

“Yes, there is, but it isn’t working. I’ve figured something out though. Every month or so, the world saves itself.”

“Saves itself? Which save? Like regenerating itself or like a save file in a game?” Grian questioned.

“Save file.” He confirmed. “So we can load it, and it basically turns back the time.”

“Whoa, that’s kind of weird, but… can we do that?”

Xisuma looked into his eyes. “Yes, but it’s not very stable. You remember the time Mumbo’s witch farm made everything go really slow? I had to use a world backup, and well… some weird stuff happened. And that was just turning back less than two hours. I don’t know what‘ll happen if we try now.”

“Can we still try though?” He asked.

“Sure. Let me just set it up.”

Grian watched as X opened a folder named ‘World backups’ and selected the one that dated back to a week before Mumbo disappeared. He then altered some lines of text- Grian shivered slightly, knowing those innocent lines of text made up their whole world.

“And done. Are you really sure about this? You can do it, if you want.” X pushed the keyboard towards him.

Grian hesitated, his finger hovering over the enter key.  _ Should I do this? I’m happy with X. But everyone…  _ For the second time since his friends disappeared, he made up his mind. Looking to X one last time, who gave him an encouraging smile, he took a deep breath and rested his finger on the key.

_ Here goes nothing. _

He pressed the button, and the world went dark around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooo we almost at the end
> 
> yes I did another cliffhanger 
> 
> Sorry :)
> 
> Hope you liked it!
> 
> -Diamond_Sylvie


	10. Finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The universe needed something in return.

Grian sat up. He was in his bed, but not the one he shared with X. It was at his own mansion.

_ Did it really work? _

He pulled out his communicator and messaged ‘hello’ to everyone. The replies came in quickly, and some were even concerned, asking him why he was just saying hello. The red-sweatered hermit quickly reassured them that he was fine. Opening his private chat with X, he quickly messaged him, telling him that the command had worked. Not waiting for a response, he flew out of the open back of his mansion (it was odd, seeing his work become undone) and headed to check on his friends in the jungle, wanting to see them in person, the first being Mumbo. The moustached man waved at him as he flew overhead. He landed lightly beside him, pulling him into a hug.

“It’s so good to see you!” 

Mumbo laughed. “It’s good to see you too, but I literally saw you yesterday. What’s up?”

“Bro, you would  _ not _ believe me if I told you. It’s a long story, and I want to go check on everyone else, so... bye for now!” He smiled, then disappeared in a flurry of rockets, leaving Mumbo to mutter a confused ‘What?’ then smile, because that’s just what Grian is like sometimes.

~

He circled to all his disappeared friend’s bases, glad to see them again, before going back to his friends in the jungle, which he had saved for last. 

“Scar!” Grian almost knocked him over when trying to land.

“Whoa, Grian, are you okay?” 

“100 percent! I’m just glad to see you!”

Scar laughed. “G, have you been getting enough sleep? I hope you’re not working too hard. Being the admin is a hard job, but you should still get sleep. Oops, I gotta go meet up with Bdubs. Mayor things, y’know? See ya later!” He flew off towards his nether portal.

Grian stood still, trying to process the Scar’s words.  _ What- Me? Admin? He must be joking. There’s no way. X is the admin.  _ A chill ran down his spine.  _ Did something happen to X? I’ve gotta go check. _

He arrived at the patch of ‘jungle’ a few minutes later, only there was a see-through, blue striped wall that turned red as he got closer.

“What in the world…?” He wondered out loud, touching the wall. It was smooth, and felt unbreakable. He punched it lightly, then harder, putting more force into the next punch than the last. Even with all his strength and tools, he could not break the barrier. He walked around the perimeter, estimating its size. It just covered where X’s base used to stand. He had a sinking feeling that X wouldn’t be there. 

_ What do I do? I don’t know how this works!  _

_ What if the other hermits don't remember him? _

Just as he was about to take off towards Mumbo’s base, his foot hit something and it rolled into a bush close to him. Picking it up, he realized it was X’s helmet. Silent tears rolled down his face and onto the helmet, washing away streaks of dirt.

_ What happened? _

He gripped the helmet tightly in his hands and walked slowly to Mumbo’s base.

~

“Oh hi Grian! You’re back.” Mumbo said as Grian shuffled up the stairs to his base.

“Do you know who this helmet belongs to?”

“It’s yours? You haven't needed it for a long time though. You’re acting kind of weird today. Are you alright?”

Grian curled into a ball on the floor, arms still wrapped tightly around the helmet. “Mumbo. Who is the admin?”

“Um, you? Seriously, are you okay? Did something happen?”

“It’s not me! It’s X! X is the admin!”

Mumbo frowned, confused. “xB was never the admin?”

“Not xB! Xisuma!” Grian cried, a hand going to pull at his hair.

“Who is… Xisuma?” Mumbo hesitated, as if the name was unfamiliar on his tongue.

“The admin!”

“Okay Grian, let’s get you to bed. I think you’re hallucinating.”

“I’m not!”

~

A few weeks later, Grian’s memories were already fading. After all, he  _ had _ been tired that day and if no one else remembered, then surely they were just a figment of his own imagination? He was still somewhat clueless at controlling the panel, but he was figuring it out slowly, bit by bit. He was doing fine.

He spent time with his friends, but sometimes, when he was alone, he felt like they didn’t exist anymore; like they were gone. 

When this happened, he hugged the helmet to his chest, and it made him feel just a bit less alone.

He kept it on his nightstand, simply looking at it before he went to sleep each night. It was familiar, a sort of familiar that made him feel… loved.

_ Was it really mine? _ He questioned. 

~

He had to load a world backup.

It shouldn’t have made him nervous, but it did.

_ What happened the last time I did this?  _ **_Have_ ** _ I ever done this? _

“Hey, Grian, are you okay?” Mumbo placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. The action took twice as long as it would have when their world was running smoothly.

“I’m just nervous. It… doesn't feel right. Did something bad happen the last time I did this?”

Mumbo scratched his head. “ I don’t actually remember the last time you did this. Oh well. It’ll be fine.” He smiled reassuringly.

“You’re right.” Grian took a deep breath then entered the command, double checking the text.

“On the count of three?”

“One,”

“Two,”

“Three!” He activated the command and the world faded to black once again.

~

_ Xisuma joined the server. _

Mumbo was sitting on the bed, in the same position he had been in four hours ago. They both moved their limbs, observing the way they moved, smooth with no sign of the static that had been there… four hours into the future.

“It worked! See, I told you everything would be fine!” Mumbo exclaimed.

Grian smiled at him, noticing that his communicator was buzzing like crazy. He had notified them of the backup happening, so they should have known. But none of the messages had been about the backup, rather what had happened right after.

<Stressmonster101>: grian whos this xisuma 

<BdoubleO100>: do you know them?

<Cubfan135>: how did they get here?

Messages continued to flow in, but Grian stayed focused on the one name. 

_ Xisuma. _

“Oh wait, that’s the name that you mentioned after the last backup, right? Do you know them?” The red-sweatered hermit’s eyes stayed glued to the screen of his communicator.

_ Xisuma.  _

He remembered. His boyfriend. The helmet. 

He remembered everything.

Grian grabbed the helmet and flew to spawn, using about three rockets per second.

_ Please be there. _

No one was there.

He dropped to the ground.

_ Was this my fault? _

Hearing his communicator buzz, he checked it.

<Mumbo Jumbo>\- <Grian>: grian

<Mumbo Jumbo>\- <Grian>: you know that random box in the jungle

<Mumbo Jumbo>\- <Grian>: the one where no one could get into

<Mumbo Jumbo>\- <Grian>: it’s disappeared

<Mumbo Jumbo>\- <Grian>: and there’s a base in it

<Mumbo Jumbo>\- <Grian>: does it have something to do with that xisuma dude

There was still hope left.

_ Please be there. I want to see you again. _

As soon as he saw the familiar honey accents of the towers, he knew he was in the right place.

“X?” He called out hesitantly into the living-tower. 

“I’m coming!” He heard a cheerful voice coming from the kitchen portion of the tower. Not bothering to wait, he rushed in.

“Hi! What can I help you with?” It was X. Grian felt tears beginning to well up in his eyes. He lunged forward and encased X in a hug.

“You’re back.” He whispered. “You’re really back.” He could feel X patting his back and something wet hitting his hair.

“I am. You brought me back.”

“Of course. I would do anything, and everything to be with you again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah!
> 
> That's the finale!
> 
> In the future, I might write some alternate endings.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed, and maybe I'll see you in the next one!
> 
> -Diamond_Sylvie

**Author's Note:**

> To be very honest with you I don't know what's going to happen. I hope you liked it though! :D
> 
> Yours very truly,  
> Diamond_Sylvie
> 
> P.S-I'll try to upload a chapter at least once a week.


End file.
